


Braids

by TakingOverMidnight3482



Series: Julie and the Phantoms One-Shots: Ghostly Mishaps [17]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Fluff and Angst, Flynn is there also but she doesn't speak, Gen, Hair Braiding, I know half of you here are ppl I introduced to this show lol, M/M, No plot just the band relaxing, Willie is the Best Boyfriend, and if you know who that is...what's up rat, this one is for Sonne, tw for mentions of anxiety induced stims, we stan healthy male friendships also, why do i have two stories about braiding hair now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27569434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakingOverMidnight3482/pseuds/TakingOverMidnight3482
Summary: His sister’s hair had always fallen past her hips, practically to her knees. It was long and blonde, thick, straight, and she always complained about it being in her face and in the way. Their mother had braided it for her for years, until one day when Alex was watching and asked to learn.
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: Julie and the Phantoms One-Shots: Ghostly Mishaps [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925116
Comments: 19
Kudos: 514





	Braids

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this so that it kind of flowed with my train of thought, cause that's how anxiety feels. It doesn't have concise stopping and starting points, it just goes.

Alex’s hands were trembling.

Fingers of his right hand tapping repeatedly at the denim of his jeans, the left hand twisting and tugging at the cuff of his sweatshirt, wrapped tightly in his fingers. His knee was jittering, his pants swishing against each other as it moved. He could feel every single surface he was touching, and simultaneously could feel nothing. His head was fuzzy, hollow, and his mouth felt too dry.

His bandmates were chatting on the floor, Willie amongst them, none of them the wiser. Something about the time Reggie found a jellyfish under the pier near his house and almost had to go to the emergency room. Or maybe it had been Bobby. Alex really couldn’t remember.

He was sitting on the couch above them, Flynn on his left. She couldn’t see him, only hear him – Reggie was playing bass, or at least, he was the last time Alex had checked – but he was still conscious of her presence. He tried to soak it in; her perfume was floral. Maybe lavender. She had on rainbow knee socks. They were too bright, but also soothing. She was twisting a purple, pink, and blue wristband around and around her arm, and Alex found himself zoning in on it.

Her nails were chipped. They’d been painted blue, or maybe black. They were dark. Alex’s fingers sped up the tapping on his knee.

A hand settled over his fingers, light, careful, and he turned to find Willie watching him steadily. Across the room, Luke and Reggie were also gazing at him, concern in both their eyes even as they talked to Julie and Flynn. Reggie’s fingers picked up the pace on his bass, and Alex registered a wrong note.

He shot them a weak smile and then glanced down at Willie, who was still holding his hand. “You good?” he asked softly, and Alex was glad he didn’t have to speak first – only the other guys could hear and see Willie, so Julie didn’t even look up from where she’d paused to send a message to someone on her phone.

He swallowed, turning his hand in Willie’s and letting his fingers dust his palm. Shook his head, once, lips pressed tight in a line.

Willie hummed and took his hand, kissing his knuckles gently. Moved Alex’s hand until it rested against his scalp, the tips of his fingers dipping into the long, black strands that always fell and caressed his shoulders. “Wanna play with my hair?”

Alex let out a shaky breath that he didn’t know he’d been holding (or could hold, for that matter). He nodded, shifting in his seat, and let go of his sweatshirt sleeve to slide his other hand up Willie’s neck and into his hair. His shoulders eased, and he saw Luke and Reggie relax out of the corner of his eye.

His sister’s hair had always fallen past her hips, practically to her knees. It was long and blonde, thick, straight, and she always complained about it being in her face and in the way. Their mother had braided it for her for years, until one day when Alex was watching and asked to learn.

It became their time together – getting ready for school, before the chaos of the day, a calm five minutes where they both sat down and just talked while Alex pulled her hair up in a long braid. Sometimes two, sometimes a little more complex. Some days she left it down, other days she twisted the braids into buns on the back of her head. She never let their mother do it after Alex learned: she said Alex had a lighter touch.

Playing with hair was quite possibly one of Alex’s favorite things. His sister had always welcomed it, and so had the guys, when they found out.

He’d been having a panic attack. Not unlike the one he was currently having. And hell, some afterlife, if he still had all the mental health issues he did dead as he did when he was alive. But regardless, he’d been having a panic attack. In the garage they were currently in, actually, though 26 years prior.

Fingers trembling, breath short, skin crawling, he’d dropped his sticks. And Bobby had noticed first. Stopped his guitar abruptly, which led to Reggie stopping, and then Luke. He couldn’t articulate the problem, because to be honest, he hadn’t known.

Bobby’s voice had been distant, as he knelt next to him. Hands on his knees, cautious, like he didn’t quite know what to do. Luke, bouncing nervously on his toes in front of the drums, because he’d always had that energy in him that never really left. And Reggie, kneeling on his right, taking his hands in his gently, running his fingers over Alex’s shaking hands until he could feel them again.

Reggie had leaned his cheek on their clasped hands, and Alex’s fingers had brushed against the loose strands of his hair, still a little sweaty from rehearsal, and despite the sweat, he’d immediately relaxed. He was nervous at the first move, tugging his fingers away from Reggie’s just enough to reach up and slide his grip through his hair, but Reggie hadn’t commented on the weirdness. He’d instead crawled in front of Alex, sat cross-legged between him and the drum set, and remained there until Alex could find his words again.

Now, Willie’s hair was gliding between his fingers, effortless, smooth, smelling like fresh soap, even though Alex wasn’t even sure ghosts could shower. Without thinking much, his fingers started twisting in the familiar and yet ancient motion, ingrained in him after four years of doing it nearly every day without fail until he died. A braid formed slowly, pulling in extra strands from the side of Willie’s head until the pattern was criss crossing and intricate.

Alex stopped at the end out of instinct, breath hitching. “I don’t have a hair tie,” he said without thinking.

Julie looked over, finally, brows furrowing in confusion as she took in Alex’s posture, until her eyes finally dipped to his hands and the way they were positioned. “Are you doing Willie’s hair?” she asked, sounding amused.

Alex glanced up and Julie’s smile dipped a little – she obviously knew something wasn’t quite right. “Yeah,” he said.

Reggie stopped playing his guitar for a moment, holding up his arm. “I have one,” he said, tugging it off his wrist and tossing it across the room for Willie to grab. “I fiddle with it sometimes.”

He started strumming again, and Alex wrapped Willie’s braid up firmly, his hands pulling away steady and calm. Willie lifted his own hand up to touch the back of his head, a grin sliding across his face as he looked back. “All right, Hot Dog. You got mad braiding skills.”

A smile crossed Alex’s face before he could stop it, and he swatted at Willie gently. “Shut up.”

Willie caught his hand and kissed his knuckles again, soft, and Alex settled his legs on either side of his boyfriend and relaxed his arms over his shoulder. His bandmates eyed him for a moment, but when he gave them a gentle, genuine smile, Julie turned back to Reggie and Luke.

“I’m sorry, so _where_ did Bobby put the jellyfish?”

**Author's Note:**

> If you live in Georgia and are eligible to vote this January (or know someone who is), please do so! You have the chance to flip both Georgia senate seats and have an even amount of seats on both sides. This has been your Political PSA from your local fanfiction author.


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